


Strollin' into Fate

by SweetlyNeurotic



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Bro!Dirk, M/M, Runaway Baby, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-10
Updated: 2013-11-10
Packaged: 2018-01-01 00:46:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1038345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetlyNeurotic/pseuds/SweetlyNeurotic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A regular trip to the mall turns chaotic when a runaway baby stroller is involved.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Strollin' into Fate

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this tumblr comic by my-friend-the-frog: http://sweetlyneurotic.tumblr.com/post/66387690192/my-friend-the-frog-taking-a-break-from-dirkjake

Houston, Texas. 12:39 p.m.

Your name is Dirk Strider and your currently wheeling your little brother around the mall. Every Wednesday, you and the lil' man take a trip to the mall so the cool dude can get some fresh air and you can stock up on fabrics. You look down at the little blond sitting up in his stroller, drool slipping down from the corner of his tiny mouth as he stares at all the people walking by through his baby shades. He's such an adorable little shit. “So lil' man, what you thinkin' we should get at the craft store today? Some sick ass felt? Bitchin' suede? Lil' man loves rolling around on the suede don’t you, you lil' shit.” You reach down and ruffle the lil' mans hair gently, as he reaches up to pap at your bigger fingers with his chubby baby hands. 

Sure, you may have been handed Dave when your parents died. At twenty-four, you weren't really sure you knew how to handle an infant but after two years of pretty much winging the whole thing you were feel confident in your abilities. Hell, the lil' man still had all his toes and fingers. That has to count for something.

You take the elevator up a few floors, taking Dave out of his stroller briefly so he can push the buttons. He makes little gurgling noises in his delight, a ginger-haired woman sharing the elevator commenting on how adorable he is. You simply nod in her direction as you set Dave back down in his stroller, bitch of course the little man is adorable. He's a Strider; it's practically written on his god damn birth certificate. David “Adorable” Elizabeth Strider. You head out of the elevator at your stop and make your way towards the fabric store, passing by your favorite shop in the process. PUPPETS has the best bases and fully designed puppets you've seen to date and they've offered to sell some of your work before.

Too bad your smuppets are a little too hardcore for these fucks.

Though as your passing the shop, your eye catches on the corner display blinking in the window. Your feet stop as your eyes connect to a puppet dressed as a chef, looking very angry and otherwise disgruntled. The blinking sign reads “NEW! Gordon Ramsey Edition! 50% off!” and holy fuck that wasn't supposed to come out for another three months. You stare in disbelief through your shades, wondering if it'd be too sketch if you just pressed your whole face up against the glass to take a closer look the angry chef hanging in the display. Fuck no, Striders don’t do sketch. Your grip tightens on the stroller handlebar as you continue to scan over the puppet, brow furrowing when you feel worn leather against your finger tips.

That's funny, the stroller bar isn't leather—HOLY SHIT DAVE WHERE ARE YOU GOING.

You had turned to look down at the stroller to find it not there. It wasn't next to you. Dave wasn't there. You quickly glanced up to see the stroller continuing it's journey down the hall, Dave's bottle peeking out from the side of the stroller to show Dave was still looking around. You must have just let it go when you saw the puppet! You silently screeched to yourself before you break off into a jog after Dave and his get away stroller, watching at the stroller started to veer to the left where the escalators are.

A figure suddenly bounds out from the next store as the stroller rolls by, jumping in front of the get away stroller and bringing it to a stop. You instantly feel the giant anvil of worry fall off your shoulders, slowly your jog to a walk as the figure bends down to check on the lil' man. Dave's not crying when you finally get to him, the infant Strider staring up at the man as he continued to down his apple juice in his bottle.

You reach a hand up to lift your hat off you head, scratching at the blond hair trapped beneath it as you try to hide the apparent worry spreading over your face. “Woah man, thanks for the quick save of the lil' man.” You offer the stranger as he holds firm on the basket of the stroller, your own gloved hands coming to grip the stroller handle. He looks up at you with striking green eyes behind glasses, a look of shock on his face as he obviously looks from your shades to Dave's baby ones a few times. His face contorts from shock to pleasant in a heartbeat once he registers that your in charge of the lil' man, lifting his hands away from Dave and his foot away from the right wheel of stroller.

Dave has other plans and drops his bottle, chubby arms flailing up towards the stranger and making grabby hands at him. Mister-Green-Eyes-And-Stubble looks down again and chuckles, holding out a hand to Dave who grasps at the offered hand and just holds him in place. “My, he's quite the aware little champ isn't he?I have a cousin around his age, so I've dealt with a few run away carts myself!” He says in a voice that just radiates positivity and god damn does it nearly give you a boner in public because he's got the sexiest accent you've ever heard. Who has a British accent in Texas? You do your best to not show the near-instant attraction as you move around to crouch down by Dave whose too busy gumming the man's fingers.

“Yo lil' man what you think, want to repay this dude for saving your ever-loving neck?” He say to him like your expecting a reply, instead nodding a few times when he makes noises against the fingers he's assaulting before you force him to stop and pop a pacifier in his mouth. Mister-British-Babe laughs as he wipes his fingers off on a handkerchief from his pocket, smiling between you and Dave as you straighten back up to face your baby brother's savior.

“Really chap, it was nothing to fret over.”  
“You just saved my baby brother from meeting an untimely doom, the least I can do is buy you a beer or something.”  
“Well, sir that does sound mighty gentlemanly of you! My names Jake English, pleasure to meet you two!”

Jake holds his hand out to you, smiling that buck-toothed grin of his that makes you stomach twitch. You reach out and grip his hand in your gloved one, giving it a good shake and am slightly surprised by his firm grip. He's warm in your hand. 

“The names Dirk, Dirk Strider. Lil' man is Dave.” You introduce yourself briefly, breaking away from Jake before you made that handshake last longer than it should. Jake accompanies you to your errand at the fabric store, telling you how he just moved here to live with his cousin with his grandparents and how his cousin is right around Dave's age. You listen silently to him, enjoying how you just like listening to his voice and how he interacts with Dave. The lil' man seems to have taking a liking to him and the silly faces Jake makes at him, a small smirk playing across your features as you watch.

Before long Jake announces he needs to run on home to check on the arrival of a package, giving you his number in the process so that you can make good on your offer to buy him a beer. He says his farewells to Dave, proudly fist bumping him before he turns to you with that gleaming smile.

“Do you think we could get Jade and Dave together for a play-date sometime?”  
“I don't see why not, I definitely need to get the lil' man some interaction with kids his own age. I mostly work from home so we could have it at our place. If you don't mind sweet swords around the apartment.”  
“Haha! Not at all, Jade's gotten her little hands on my trusty pistols a few times so I'm sure between the two of us lads we'll be able to insure no harm comes to our toddlers.”  
“Sounds like we got us a date then, English.”  
“Indeed it does, Strider! A date indeed.”

You catch him giving you the smallest of smirks and hot damn he's counting this as a date with you as well hot damn. You shake hands with Jake once again before he ventures off with a wave and a declaration of seeing you this evening. As you head out towards the opposite exit of the mall, you lean down to Dave as he starts to nod off into a nap.

“Lil' man you just got me laid tonight, you lil' shit. Your the best fucking baby bro ever.” Dave just hiccups and snuggles into his blanket, a chuckle slipping free from you as you wonder where your going to hide all the smuppets. 

Break those out on date two, fuck yeah.


End file.
